H is for Humility

Humility, first off, is not the same as humiliation. Humiliation is making someone feel low, dirty, and wretched. Humility is nothing like that. Humility is about treating others well. And the opposite of humility, in the Biblical sense, is Pride. That's right, Pride with a capital P.
According to Wikipedia, humility "is variously seen as the act or posture of lowering oneself in relation to others, or conversely, having a clear perspective and respect for one's place in context. In a religious context this can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity or deities, acceptance of one's defects, and submission to divine grace or as a member of an organized, hierarchical religion. Absent a religious context humility can still take on a moral and/or ethical dimension."

I like that they give the two aspects and definitions because humility has several facets. For example, most people in power see humility as the first part "lowering oneself in relation to others". Yet in other social structures it is more about "having a clear perspective and respect for one's place in context."  But what if you were a king or a CEO? How does having humility apply in this case? In context, you are the top of the heap. And yet for both to have this virtue some other element must exist.

According to a Christian website, humility is "a quality of being courteously respectful of others". It gives no regard to station or position in life.

According to Merriam-Webster, humility is "the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people."

So looking at the CEO and the king, the quality is not thinking he (or she in the case of a queen and lady CEO) is better than everyone else.

So, how does a king or CEO do this, since socially they are at the top of the heap? I think the best way is to recognize how much people need people. That a king is nothing without his subjects and a CEO is nothing without his employees. That if their subjects/employees are treated well they will have success in their kingdom/company.

When I was a kid my mother used to play this song on the piano a lot. It was called No Man is an Island. It goes like this:

No man is an island.

No man stands alone.

Each man's joy is joy to me.

Each man's grief is my own.

We need one another

So I will defend

Each man as my brother,

Each man as my friend.

Here's another version of it.

 

 

The opposite of humility is aggressiveness, arrogance, boastfulness, and vanity - or in the Biblical sense, Pride. It is saying "Me first" rather than, "We all matter". Pride is competition in its worst sense. It says "If you win, I lose." Rather than Win-Win, which is what Stephen R. Covey (the author of  Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) recommends to all great businessmen. Pride finds no joy in the success of others, but jealousy and envy. But in humility you are happy for all, realizing that it takes all people to make the world a better place.

 

How to foster humility in oneself can be tricky, though. First off, never assume you are "too-good" for some kind of task that others are required to do. Never assume that a lawyer is better than a trash man. One may be paid more, but without the trash man, garbage would heap homes and streets.

 

The world we live in is all about status and money - which is unfortunate because what matters most are neither things, but people. In the US especially we devalue certain vital jobs and lift up high profile ones. For example: a teacher who helps and guides each generation so that lives grow and flourish are paid far less than entertainers and athletes who do nothing more than make our free time pleasant while our butts are rooted into chairs. Both provide a service of a sort, but it is obvious who is regarded more by how much they are paid.

 

Humility is a God-like quality for many reasons. But especially in Christianity, the humble behavior of Jesus Christ who went about doing good and submitted himself to public lies, abuse, and execution is perhaps the best example. He went among people the Pharisees and Sadducees (the elite of his society in his day) sneered at and reviled. And his apostles after him continued his legacy, preaching also to the Gentiles (those that were previously regarded as not worth associating with).

 

H is for Humility.